WICS Live: Around the States

Louisiana: State Facing Mid-Year Medicaid Budget Shortfall. The shortfall is the result of a higher-than-expected health-care spending and delays delays in implementing cost-cutting strategies, the state Health and Hospitals Secretary told lawmakers during a special budget hearing September 22nd. In addition to costs associated with the H1N1 virus, the state also is spending more than anticipated on home-care services for individuals with intellectual and other developmental disabilities, and legislature-approved rate reductions have taken longer to implement. The exact amount of the shortfall must be reported to a House-Senate budget committee by November 1st. The state is already preparing for increasing financial hardship as of July 1st, when the state will see their federal Medicaid match fall from 80% to 63%, adding another $700 million to the budget deficit. A blue-ribbon panel is expected to recommend $802 million in program cuts in its report, due early next year.